by Alicia Rae
Kyle accelerated hard, and the momentum pushed me back into my seat.
“I agree. Let’s hope we’re right.”
I stared blankly at the road in front of me for what was the longest fucking car ride of my life while praying to every star in the sky that my girl was still alive and breathing.
It was the only thing that would keep my heart beating.
Kyle slowed the Suburban and killed the headlights a mile before my house came into view from the street. Leaning forward in his seat, he carefully watched the lines on the road.
“Do you have any weapons outside the house that we can use?” Kyle asked out of the blue.
I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. “Not that we can access. One was taken in the barn fire. The other two are inside the house. My rifle is in the hall closet near the guest rooms, and my pistol is in the nightstand near my bed, which won’t do us much good tonight.”
Kyle kept a hand on the wheel while using the opposing one to lift the side of his shirt. He pulled out a gun and outstretched his hand to me, holding the barrel. “Only use this if you need it. Whether evil or not, it’s never easy to take a life.”
I had the utmost respect for Kyle, who had served our country for many years, so I took his words of wisdom to heart.
“Okay,” I drawled. Then, curiosity got the better of me, and I glanced over at him and raised a brow. “If you had this on you the whole time, then why in the hell did you just ask me if I had any?”
He shrugged as if it was the most natural item to whip out of his pocket. “Just in case.”
I took the gun from him and familiarized myself with the piece. “Where did you get this?”
Kyle tossed me a look, one that would have had me jumping out of the truck if I wasn’t his friend. “I’m a hotheaded Army veteran, remember?”
I chuckled with great mirth, sat forward in the seat, and tucked the weapon at my back into the waistband of my pants before slipping him a small grin. “Fuck yes, you are,” I sighed. “Now, drive faster.”
We slipped into a moment of silence as we ate up the long country roads. Fear and anxiety hit me so fucking hard that I felt as though I were choking.
When we came up to my driveway at last, Kyle parked the Suburban approximately twenty yards behind my mailbox, so it was just hidden by the brush that outlined my property.
Kyle shut the truck off and removed the car keys before tucking them into his pocket. “We’ll walk from here.”
He rested his hand on the door lever, ready to exit, when I said his name, “Kyle.”
“Yeah?” He looked over his shoulder at me.
It was a full moon, so I could see his face fairly well. “Thank you…for everything.”
Kyle’s expression lifted into a small caring smile. “No need to thank me. Paige is family to me just as much as you are.”
“Wait. I need you to promise me one thing, Kyle.”
“What?”
“You get Paige out of there. She comes first,” I said, trying to keep my emotions out of my voice before I lost it.
“We are all walking away from this, Colton—together,” Kyle said, his voice filled with confidence.
“I know, but promise me.”
“Fine.” Kyle sighed heavily, and he pivoted to open his door and added, “Now, enough of the sappy shit. Let’s go.”
We both exited the truck, and then we dipped down into a ditch and maneuvered ourselves through the brush, perusing the entire yard. From the front, I could see the kitchen light was on.
Sure enough, a police car came into view at the bend of the driveway, and I guessed it was Eddie’s. Kyle and I hustled onward, and I saw Hank’s Mercedes parked on the far side of Eddie’s car. Two unexpected black BMWs were next in line, and I cursed under my breath at realizing at least four people were in my house with Paige, and more than likely, they were all armed, too.
Kyle and I treaded to the kitchen window where we peeked inside, seeing a clear path to the living room.
“Who do you recognize?”
I studied the room and said, “The guy standing along the right wall with the gun in his hand is Eddie, and the man on the couch is Hank. I don’t know the other two men.”
Just then, Eddie appeared to start talking as he moved out of my way. My heart faltered a beat when Paige came into plain view.
She was sitting in a kitchen chair with her head tipped back against the wall. Her eyes were closed, and a large trail of blood streaked down the side of her face.
I clenched my jaw and fists as my gaze wandered over her frail body. I saw her hands were scraped and handcuffed in her lap with more bloodstains on her knees. My body tensed with pure rage.
I silently commanded myself to take a backward step, and I rotated to face the driveway before I broke through the glass to get to her.
A firm grip clamped down on my shoulder and spun me around. Kyle’s eyes were shooting daggers into mine with a stern expression.
“Keep your head in the fight, Colton, and your emotions out of it. That is the only way Paige will make it out of this alive.”
I took in a gulp of air and slowly released it, forcing my anger to calm the fuck down. I wasn’t sure how much good it had done.
“Tell me what to do,” I demanded quietly.
“We can’t barge in through the living room door because that is obviously what they are waiting for.” He briefly glanced around. “Do you have any windows unlocked in the house?”
“No,” I answered, running a mental checklist in my head. “Hold on. Sometimes, Paige opens the window in the bathroom to let out the steam.”
“Let’s check it out.”
Kyle and I walked past the master bedroom to the side of the house. The bathroom window was closed. I came to stand next to the siding of the house where I elevated my hands to the screen and unlatched it. Kyle grabbed it from me and set it down on the grass.
I pressed my fingertips on the bottom of the window and pushed upward. It gave, so I continued to raise it all the way. Once open, I rose up on my toes and poked my head in to study the area. The bathroom door was shut, and I couldn’t hear a thing. A handful of candles and other decorations outlined the Jacuzzi tiled frame, so I moved them out of my path.
“I think we’re good,” I told Kyle as I returned to my former position.
He knelt down and linked his hands together. I placed my shoe in the middle of his palms while bracing my weight on my arms to hoist myself up and climb in through the window as quietly as possible.
After stepping into the bathtub, I listened for movement in the house. All was quiet, so I bent forward and stuck my head and arm through the space to give Kyle a hand.
He tightened his grip on mine and looked up at me. “Ready?”
“Yep.”
As Kyle jumped up the siding, I yanked on his hand. His upper body began to come through the windowsill, and I used my opposing hand to grip under his arm where I continued to pull on him.
“Jesus, what does Lily feed you?” I joked, keeping my voice low as I heaved him inside the rest of the way.
He spread his hands on the tiled counter and righted himself with his feet in the bottom of the Jacuzzi. He stood up and grinned at me. “Protein. Lots and lots of protein.”
Kyle and I both laughed soundlessly before we kicked into gear and listened to our surroundings to learn we were still undiscovered.
Kyle tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention. “All right, here’s the plan. You and I are going to stand on both sides of your bedroom door,” he instructed, making hand gestures. “When we are in place, I’m going to come up with a distraction to lure Hank’s men to us, so we can pick them off one at a time. I’ll take the first one, and you can take the second.”
I nodded my head once in agreement.
Carefully twisting the knob, I pulled the bathroom door toward me. Kyle and I crept up to the bedroom exit and took our positions. Since the door was open, it allowed the kit
chen and living room light to filter into the area.
Kyle and I made eye contact and gave one another a brisk nod. Then, he kicked his heel into the drywall, causing a loud thump to reverberate through the room.
I rolled my eyes and then whispered, “Genius move,” at his lame diversion tactic.
Kyle shrugged his shoulders and smirked.
Eddie yelled, “What was that noise? It came from over there. You two, go check it out!”
We braced ourselves as the first person crossed the threshold of the room with his arm straightened in front of him, pointing a gun.
Kyle’s hand thrashed down on the man’s elbow, and the gun clattered to the floor. I booted it underneath my bed as Kyle pierced the man’s stomach with his fist. Before the dude could buckle over, Kyle detained him by his shoulders and slammed his back into the wall before attacking him again.
My eyes snapped back to the doorway as someone else approached. As soon as his leg came into reach, I kicked him. He stumbled forward, and I thrust my elbow in between his shoulder blades, sending him straight to the ground.
His weapon clattered to the floor, but I didn’t give him the time to reach it because I was already on his back.
Lifting his head by his hair, I slammed his forehead against the unforgiving hardwood floor with all my strength. “Sleep, motherfucker.”
A gun fired from behind me, directly over my head, and the bullet hit Paige’s dresser. I threw myself down to the ground as a second and third round went off.
I flipped over to my stomach and glanced up to see Kyle ducking his head as he charged his body into Eddie. They both fell to the ground.
“Go!” Kyle roared at me as he fought to disarm Eddie.
He didn’t need to tell me twice.
I barreled into the living room while reaching for my gun, only to skid to a halt at the sight of Hank and Paige. I rapidly evaluated the situation.
Hank had one arm locked around Paige’s throat, and his other held a gun pointed at her bloody temple. She had her hands in a death grip around his forearm, desperately struggling against him in an effort to break free. Her face was soaked in tears, and her petrified eyes were fixated on me.
Her visible pain and terror weighed on my soul, nearly making me lose my composure. I recalled what Kyle had said about keeping my head in the fight, and I regretfully lifted my gaze to the devil himself.
“Let her go, Hank,” I demanded.
His laughter was full of menace, and he took a backward step. “How does it feel to know that the woman you love is about to take her very last breath?”
I feel downright motherfucking violent.
I advanced and cocked my gun. “It will be yours, too.”
Knowing Kyle was either watching from afar or on his way to assist me, it was my turn to create a diversion.
I gradually advanced between the end table and the couch toward the living room window.
Hank shifted backward on his feet and crossed onto the tiled kitchen floor, taking Paige with him. His face contorted with a hideously smug grin. “You’re that confident you have what it takes to kill someone, eh?” he questioned.
“Yes,” I answered without a trace of doubt.
I sidestepped once more, causing Hank to have his back fully facing the hallway that led to my bedroom.
He waved his gun between Paige and me. “What are you doing?” he hissed. “Stop dancing me in circles!”
From my peripheral vision, I could see Kyle hiding around the corner.
“Tell me what you really want from me, Hank. Just name it, and it’s yours.”
He scrunched up his forehead. “This isn’t about materialistic things, Colton. It never was.” He narrowed his eyes. “This is strictly about principle and keeping people in order.”
Kyle inconspicuously crept toward Hank, his body braced to attack.
“So, this is all over the sale of a horse?” I laughed. “You really are crazy.”
Hank went off on a tangent, “You tried to make a fool of me! I will protect my reputation in this town. You have no right to dictate who…”
I tuned out Hank’s meaningless wrath because Kyle was now within two feet of Hank. I glanced down at Paige, trying to silently warn her to be ready to move. Her eyes were wide with fear, but she seemed to understand something was about to go down.
As Kyle lunged for Hank with his arms spread wide, Hank broke off and whipped his head to the left.
It all happened so fast.
Kyle’s body connected with Hank, and the two of them started to fall with Paige sandwiched in the middle of them. My feet were already in motion, unsure where Hank’s armed hand was as his gun sounded off. Paige screamed as all three of them became tangled bodies on the floor.
Kyle rolled onto his side and pulled Hank with him while I simultaneously shoved at Hank’s body to free Paige. In a split second, Kyle straddled Hank as I gently lifted Paige out of the way to put distance between us and the brawl.
Kyle leaned forward and raised his arm at an angle in front of his own face right before he slammed his elbow into the side of Hank’s head, knocking him out cold with one powerful blow.
Kyle rose to his feet and faced us as I carried Paige into the living room.
I sat down on the hardwood floor with her in my lap. “Paige! Paige, are you okay?” I yelled frantically, setting down my gun at my side. I urgently felt over every inch of her body for injuries, fearful she had been shot.
“Yes,” she said unconvincingly. She coughed, sounding like the wind had been stolen from her very lungs from the brutal fall to the floor.
I hauled her against my chest, facing me, where I kissed her forehead over and over again, needing to know she was real. Her handcuffs restrained her movements.
I stared down at her and saw the blood on her temple and cheeks again. The exhaustion was written all over her features.
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I am now,” she murmured on a shaky breath. “Oh God, Colton. I was so scared,” she cried softly.
“Me, too, baby.” I kissed her again. “Me, too.”
She closed her eyes and let her head sink into my chest, nuzzling it with the tip of her nose as she sniffled. “So many times tonight, I wasn’t sure if I was going to ever see you again.”
Her words hit me deeply as I held her in my arms and rocked her, losing myself in my thoughts.
After leaving dinner, the rest of the evening had undoubtedly been the most terrifying night of my life. My worst fear of Paige being hurt because of me had come true. To see her being hurt not only physically but also emotionally was my undoing. My heart fucking slammed up into my throat, choking me, as I further realized I could have lost Paige tonight.
Tears stung my eyes as I crooned, “Shh…shh. You’re safe now, baby,” in an attempt to soothe and calm her and myself.
I thanked my lucky stars above. My girl was here with me to stay, and she was safe in my arms where she would remain forever.
I BURROWED MY FACE INTO COLTON even more and reveled in the feel of being tucked in his arms. Every bone and muscle in my body along with the gashes in my skin ached and throbbed profusely. I was so cold that I shook uncontrollably, no matter how many times I told myself I was safe now. I figured it was more from the adrenaline rush I was feeling inside from the past several hours than actually being chilly.
“She okay?”
Kyle’s voice had me glancing upward to see his large frame hovering above us.
I was glad he was blocking Hank from my view. I didn’t want to see him and remember the way it’d felt to have his gun pointed at the side of my head.
Colton tipped his head up at Kyle and answered, “Yes.”
My eyes roamed over Kyle’s face and saw he was spent. Guilt plagued me at knowing Kyle had put himself in danger because of me. Then, my attention caught on his gray T-shirt that was slit and soiled with blood.
I gasped and sat up in Colton’s arms. “Kyle, you
’ve been shot!”
Kyle gripped his arm below his wound. “It’s just a graze. Nothing serious.” He gestured toward the hallway. “I’m going to make sure the other three men stay put.”
“All right,” Colton answered.
I shifted in his hold to adjust my aching knees, and my handcuffs jingled.
Colton asked Kyle, “Can you look for a set of keys, so we can get the cuffs off of her?”
“Of course.” Kyle nodded. “Call nine-one-one, and inform them of the incident. I’ll be right back.”
Colton returned his eyes to me and repeated, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, I’m just tired.” I smiled tenderly at his concern as my head pulsated against my skull. Lifting my hands to it, I added, “And I have a massive headache.”
“Give me one second to call the police, and when Kyle returns, I’ll get you some Tylenol from the medicine cabinet.”
“Okay.” I nodded my head in agreement.
Colton reached for his phone and tapped at the screen. In seconds, he was talking to the operator and explaining what had happened. I shifted back slightly, so Colton could have some space to speak into the phone. I tucked my legs beneath me, still facing him, my shins resting on the hardwood floors.
As he said our address, I vaguely heard a grumbling noise. I redirected my attention to the side of Colton’s arm to see Hank stumbling to his feet, his torso facing us.
For what felt like the millionth time today, my body filled with sheer terror at the familiar metal object in his hand.
Reacting purely on instinct and the need to survive, I subtly reached for Colton’s gun on the floor and held it between my hands, knowing one was about to be fired at us.
Time suspended as my whole life flashed before my eyes, all of it including precious memories with Colton. It was then I knew that it wasn’t my own life I feared losing. It was the thought of losing Colton and the possibility of not living the rest of our lives together. Fate had brought us together, and I’d take my dying breath before letting Hank take Colton away from me.
Hank gradually raised his arm as he tried to steady himself, pointing the gun at the back of Colton’s head. Hank’s eyes were dark and soulless, occupied with nothing other than loathing and detestation toward the man I loved.